Wednesday, February 8

Sonics Win!

The Sonics may suck on the basketball court, the court of public opinion, and most likely even the People's Court, but they won in Olympia on Tuesday.

As Margarita(ville) Prentice, chairwoman of the Ways and Means Committee, put it, "The ripple effect [of sports on the economy] defies our imagination." She was referring, of course, to the impact the Seahawks' making it to the Super Bowl had on the local businesses.

She's right! If the Sonics make the Super Bowl, Seattle will win big! Oh, wait, the Sonics can't play in the Super Bowl, it being for another sport and all. But, jeez, the NBA Championship Finals ratings are always through the roof, right?

In any event, the taxes previously used to fund other SafeCo/Quest Field will now be extended to fund Key Arena's transformation into the type of arena that no team will ever leave. After all, no city would ever sell an arena for $23 million17 years after they spent $60 million to build it, right? Ah, yes, I love this game.

11 comments:

This team just flat out sucks. Luke, Ray, and Rashard (aka the core of the team) don't go to the rim, and don't play defense, EVER. Strange strategy, given that all good teams do that. Can we unload Ray Allen on Isiah? Saaayyy... Ray Ray, and D Fort for Penny, Nate and Ariza? Oh yeah, and throw in Potopenko, the draft rights to Peter Fehse, and somehow throw Scot Pollard into the mix.

Regardless of the fact that Ray Allen isn't the greatest defender in the NBA, he's still an extremely productive player (Player Efficiency Rating: +23.0, On-Court/Off-Court +/-: +17.6, & Roland Rating: +12.8); there is no reason to trade him.

Politically, I'm a libertarian; thus, it disgusts me that a huge amount of public money will go to fund the refurbish an arena that doesn't need it. Hell, if Howard Schultz wants to own his own arena, then he should go use his own money to build one in Seattle, Bellevue, or elsewhere.

He wanted to build one up his ass, but found there was no room left there. Oh well.

At least last night's game was exciting for what, 40 seconds or so? But what else can we expect when playing that powerhouse of a team from NO/OK. Oh, wait a minute... I bet we at least convinced OK that even if they do want a team all there own, they don't want the sonics.

When I read that most of what he wants redone is better parking for high rollers, more club seats, more courtside , it just made me think that all of Howies Rich friends were telling him that they wanted a place to sit at the game and it was very important that they do not rub elbows with anyone NOT making over 250K a year. yuck

Well, since the New York Knicks don't want to take on power forward Kenyon Martin's contract from the Denver Nuggets -- as well as the fact that Knicks center Channing Frye is off of the market -- the Seattle Supersonics need to find another way to make an foundation-shaking trade; the following are some trade proposals:

I guess I am on the wrong side of this debate, but my take is that if we can fund the Seahawks Stadium at a cost of $500 million and Safeco at $450 million, why can't the Sonics get $200 miilion? The fact is Key Arena gets used twics as much as the other stadiums combined, as they not only house the Sonics, but The T-Birds and the Storm, they have concerts, events and other non-sport functions. This way the whole city benefits, not just sports fans. And if we are going to spend all that money, I would think that taxpayers would want to spend it on a multi-use facility, not a sport specific one. I attend 30-40 Sonics games a year, and the Key is nice, but its ammenities suck. All the food is premade, there are no local resturants inside unlike other arenas, and the concourses are to narrow. I for one would rather spend $200 million to rebuild the Key and be able to use it 100 times a year than $500 million that gets used 10 times a year. How many corporate suites are at Seahawks Stadium? And how often are they used? The Seahawks Stadium cost $50 million a game, Mariners $5.5 million a game, Sonics, Storm, T-Birds, $2.1 Million a game, not counting concerts and other events. And some of the revenue from those events goes back to the city. So the most affordable, useable arena is the one we don't build? I don't get it. It seems short sighted to me.

I see your point, and so long as you agree that it is acceptable to spend close to a billion dollars on Safeco and Quest Fields, then it is acceptable to spend $200 million on a facility which will receive more use.

But what if it isn't acceptable to spend $1 billion on sporting facilities? To paraphrase the old axiom, two wrongs do not make a right.

Further, yes, the Seahawks only use the facility 10 times a year, but their attendance in those 10 games is roughly 650,000, or the amount the Sonics draw in about 50 games at their current pace. Add to that the average amount the typical Seahawk fan spends relative to the typical Sonic fan.

To me, the final breaking point is that it is painfully obvious that in 10 years' time we are going to be in the exact same position. The Sonics will come to the city, complaining about how lousy a facility Key Arena is, how they need this, that, and the other to compete, and taxpayers are going to be looking at spending another $200-$500 million on upgrading the stadium.

Or, look at it this way. The Sonics have already fleeced the city for about $75 million in 1995 dollars. Add $220 million to that, and we will have spent close to $300 million on Key Arena (assuming it doesn't run over budget, which it, of course, will).